Flor De Mi Tierra Group

In Guatemala, many women face difficulties from childhood that limit their access to education. However, their determination drives them to get ahead through hard work. This is the case of Luisa, aged thirty-six, who is married and the mother of eight children aged between two and seventeen. Three are in nursery and primary school, and the older children have an average of four years' education. She did not attend school due to a lack of resources and, following her mother’s death when she was ten, she was left in charge of her three-month-old sister.

For the past thirty years, she has been growing cardamom alongside her father, and eighteen years ago she set up her own business, selling wholesale with the support of twenty-five workers. Luisa is applying for her second Kiva loan to buy seeds and compost in order to expand her production and her family's income.

Luisa is the treasurer of the Friendship Bridge Community Bank “Flor de mi Tierra” in the department of Quiché. There are seven other Poqomam Maya women in the group, and all are involved in growing cardamom. These women benefit from monthly educational training, which forms part of the “Microcredit Plus” programme covering loans and health. Recent training topics have included the prudent use of loans and the dangers of over-indebtedness.

Thank you to Kiva lenders for your generosity in funding these loans!

In this group: Mirna Asucena , Concepcion , Luisa , Rosaria , Felisa Marina, Adela , Susana , Erodia

Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteerE. Power. View original language description.